Ken Nakamura, MD, PhD
Professor
Neurology
School of Medicine

He also runs a research laboratory at the Gladstone Institutes, where he investigates how disruptions of mitochondria—the “power centers” of cells that convert nutrients into energy—contribute to the development and progression of Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

Nakamura earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and biological sciences from Cornell University, and an MD and PhD in neurobiology from the University of Chicago. His thesis work focused on the role of oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease. Nakamura then completed an internship in internal medicine and a residency in neurology at UCSF, and a clinical fellowship in movement disorders at UCSF and the San Francisco VA Medical Center. He also completed a research fellowship at UCSF, during which he investigated how alpha-synuclein disrupts mitochondrial morphology and function and contributes to the development of Parkinson’s disease. He has received several awards, including a Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award for Medical Scientists.

• NEMO reshapes the α-Synuclein aggregate interface and acts as an autophagy adapter by co-condensation with p62.
  Nature communications 2023 Furthmann N, Bader V, Angersbach L, Blusch A, Goel S, Sánchez-Vicente A, Krause LJ, Chaban SA, Grover P, Trinkaus VA, van Well EM, Jaugstetter M, Tschulik K, Damgaard RB, Saft C, Ellrichmann G, Gold R…
• Role of dopamine neuron activity in Parkinson's disease pathophysiology.
  Experimental neurology 2023 Rademacher K, Nakamura K
• Protocol to combine brain sections from multiple mice into a single block for spatial transcriptomic analyses.
  STAR protocols 2023 Sei YJ, Chaumeil MM, Nakamura K
• Neurons require glucose uptake and glycolysis in vivo.
  Cell reports 2023 Li H, Guglielmetti C, Sei YJ, Zilberter M, Le Page LM, Shields L, Yang J, Nguyen K, Tiret B, Gao X, Bennett N, Lo I, Dayton TL, Kampmann M, Huang Y, Rathmell JC, Vander Heiden M, Chaumeil MM, Nakamura…
• Linear ubiquitination induces NEMO phase separation to activate NF-κB signaling.
  Life science alliance 2023 Goel S, Oliva R, Jeganathan S, Bader V, Krause LJ, Kriegler S, Stender ID, Christine CW, Nakamura K, Hoffmann JE, Winter R, Tatzelt J, Winklhofer KF
• Ensembles of endothelial and mural cells promote angiogenesis in prenatal human brain.
  Cell 2022 Crouch EE, Bhaduri A, Andrews MG, Cebrian-Silla A, Diafos LN, Birrueta JO, Wedderburn-Pugh K, Valenzuela EJ, Bennett NK, Eze UC, Sandoval-Espinosa C, Chen J, Mora C, Ross JM, Howard CE, Gonzalez-…
• Primary and metastatic tumors exhibit systems-level differences in dependence on mitochondrial respiratory function.
  PLoS biology 2022 Bennett NK, Nakaoka HJ, Laurent D, Okimoto RA, Sei Y, Horvai AE, Bivona TG, Ten Hoeve J, Graeber TG, Nakamura K, Nakamura JL
• Biallelic pathogenic variants in COX11 are associated with an infantile-onset mitochondrial encephalopathy.
  Human mutation 2022 Rius R, Bennett NK, Bhattacharya K, Riley LG, Yüksel Z, Formosa LE, Compton AG, Dale RC, Cowley MJ, Gayevskiy V, Al Tala SM, Almehery AA, Ryan MT, Thorburn DR, Nakamura K, Christodoulou J
• Reader Response: Safety of AADC Gene Therapy for Moderately Advanced Parkinson Disease: Three-Year Outcomes From the PD-1101 Trial.
  Neurology 2022 Kang UJ, Nakamura K, Zhuang X
• Isoflurane inhibition of endocytosis is an anesthetic mechanism of action.
  Current biology : CB 2022 Jung S, Zimin PI, Woods CB, Kayser EB, Haddad D, Reczek CR, Nakamura K, Ramirez JM, Sedensky MM, Morgan PG
• Mouse midbrain dopaminergic neurons survive loss of the PD-associated mitochondrial protein CHCHD2.
  Human molecular genetics 2022 Nguyen MK, McAvoy K, Liao SC, Doric Z, Lo I, Li H, Manfredi G, Nakamura K
• The PINK1 advantage: recycling mitochondria in times of trouble?
  Autophagy 2021 Doric Z, Li H, Nakamura K
• Mice with disrupted mitochondria used to model Parkinson's disease.
  Nature 2021 Doric Z, Nakamura K
• Genetically encoded cell-death indicators (GEDI) to detect an early irreversible commitment to neurodegeneration.
  Nature communications 2021 Linsley JW, Shah K, Castello N, Chan M, Haddad D, Doric Z, Wang S, Leks W, Mancini J, Oza V, Javaherian A, Nakamura K, Kokel D, Finkbeiner S
• Longitudinal tracking of neuronal mitochondria delineates PINK1/Parkin-dependent mechanisms of mitochondrial recycling and degradation.
  Science advances 2021 Li H, Doric Z, Berthet A, Jorgens DM, Nguyen MK, Hsieh I, Margulis J, Fang R, Debnath J, Sesaki H, Finkbeiner S, Huang E, Nakamura K
• SARS-CoV-2 infection of human iPSC-derived cardiac cells reflects cytopathic features in hearts of patients with COVID-19.
  Science translational medicine 2021 Perez-Bermejo JA, Kang S, Rockwood SJ, Simoneau CR, Joy DA, Silva AC, Ramadoss GN, Flanigan WR, Fozouni P, Li H, Chen PY, Nakamura K, Whitman JD, Hanson PJ, McManus BM, Ott M, Conklin BR, McDevitt TC
• Mitochondrial fission is a critical modulator of mutant APP-induced neural toxicity.
  The Journal of biological chemistry 2021 Shields LY, Li H, Nguyen K, Kim H, Doric Z, Garcia JH, Gill TM, Haddad D, Vossel K, Calvert M, Nakamura K
• Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)1.
  Autophagy 2021 Klionsky DJ, Abdel-Aziz AK, Abdelfatah S, Abdellatif M, Abdoli A, Abel S, Abeliovich H, Abildgaard MH, Abudu YP, Acevedo-Arozena A, Adamopoulos IE, Adeli K, Adolph TE, Adornetto A, Aflaki E, Agam G, …
• SARS-CoV-2 infection of human iPSC-derived cardiac cells predicts novel cytopathic features in hearts of COVID-19 patients.
  bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology 2020 Pérez-Bermejo JA, Kang S, Rockwood SJ, Simoneau CR, Joy DA, Ramadoss GN, Silva AC, Flanigan WR, Li H, Nakamura K, Whitman JD, Ott M, Conklin BR, McDevitt TC
• Defining the ATPome reveals cross-optimization of metabolic pathways.
  Nature communications 2020 Bennett NK, Nguyen MK, Darch MA, Nakaoka HJ, Cousineau D, Ten Hoeve J, Graeber TG, Schuelke M, Maltepe E, Kampmann M, Mendelsohn BA, Nakamura JL, Nakamura K
• Loss of HIPK2 Protects Neurons from Mitochondrial Toxins by Regulating Parkin Protein Turnover.
  The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 2019 Zhang J, Shang Y, Kamiya S, Kotowski SJ, Nakamura K, Huang EJ
• To be or not to be pink(1): contradictory findings in an animal model for Parkinson's disease.
  Brain communications 2019 de Haas R, Heltzel LCMW, Tax D, van den Broek P, Steenbreker H, Verheij MMM, Russel FGM, Orr AL, Nakamura K, Smeitink JAM
• Mapping the Genetic Landscape of Human Cells.
  Cell 2018 Horlbeck MA, Xu A, Wang M, Bennett NK, Park CY, Bogdanoff D, Adamson B, Chow ED, Kampmann M, Peterson TR, Nakamura K, Fischbach MA, Weissman JS, Gilbert LA
• A Map of Human Mitochondrial Protein Interactions Linked to Neurodegeneration Reveals New Mechanisms of Redox Homeostasis and NF-κB Signaling.
  Cell systems 2017 Malty RH, Aoki H, Kumar A, Phanse S, Amin S, Zhang Q, Minic Z, Goebels F, Musso G, Wu Z, Abou-Tok H, Meyer M, Deineko V, Kassir S, Sidhu V, Jessulat M, Scott NE, Xiong X, Vlasblom J, Prasad B, Foster …
• Long-term oral kinetin does not protect against α-synuclein-induced neurodegeneration in rodent models of Parkinson's disease.
  Neurochemistry international 2017 Orr AL, Rutaganira FU, de Roulet D, Huang EJ, Hertz NT, Shokat KM, Nakamura K
• PINK1-Based Screen Shines Light on Autophagy Enhancers for Parkinson's Disease.
  Cell chemical biology 2017 Haddad D, Nakamura K
• Dynamin-related protein 1 is required for normal mitochondrial bioenergetic and synaptic function in CA1 hippocampal neurons.
  Cell death & disease 2015 Shields LY, Kim H, Zhu L, Haddad D, Berthet A, Pathak D, Lam M, Ponnusamy R, Diaz-Ramirez LG, Gill TM, Sesaki H, Mucke L, Nakamura K
• Loss of mitochondrial fission depletes axonal mitochondria in midbrain dopamine neurons.
  The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 2014 Berthet A, Margolis EB, Zhang J, Hsieh I, Zhang J, Hnasko TS, Ahmad J, Edwards RH, Sesaki H, Huang EJ, Nakamura K
• β-cell telomere attrition in diabetes: inverse correlation between HbA1c and telomere length.
  The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism 2014 Tamura Y, Izumiyama-Shimomura N, Kimbara Y, Nakamura K, Ishikawa N, Aida J, Chiba Y, Mori S, Arai T, Aizawa T, Araki A, Takubo K, Ito H
• Mutant LRRK2 toxicity in neurons depends on LRRK2 levels and synuclein but not kinase activity or inclusion bodies.
  The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 2014 Skibinski G, Nakamura K, Cookson MR, Finkbeiner S
• SIRT4 regulates ATP homeostasis and mediates a retrograde signaling via AMPK.
  Aging 2013 Ho L, Titus AS, Banerjee KK, George S, Lin W, Deota S, Saha AK, Nakamura K, Gut P, Verdin E, Kolthur-Seetharam U
• Energy failure: does it contribute to neurodegeneration?
  Annals of neurology 2013 Pathak D, Berthet A, Nakamura K
• The ubiquitin ligase parkin mediates resistance to intracellular pathogens.
  Nature 2013 Manzanillo PS, Ayres JS, Watson RO, Collins AC, Souza G, Rae CS, Schneider DS, Nakamura K, Shiloh MU, Cox JS
• A neo-substrate that amplifies catalytic activity of parkinson's-disease-related kinase PINK1.
  Cell 2013 Hertz NT, Berthet A, Sos ML, Thorn KS, Burlingame AL, Nakamura K, Shokat KM
• α-Synuclein and mitochondria: partners in crime?
  Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics 2013 Nakamura K
• Mitochondrial dynamics in neurodegeneration.
  Trends in cell biology 2012 Itoh K, Nakamura K, Iijima M, Sesaki H
• Increased expression of alpha-synuclein reduces neurotransmitter release by inhibiting synaptic vesicle reclustering after endocytosis.
  Neuron 2010 Nemani VM, Lu W, Berge V, Nakamura K, Onoa B, Lee MK, Chaudhry FA, Nicoll RA, Edwards RH
• The behavior of alpha-synuclein in neurons.
  Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society 2010 Fortin DL, Nemani VM, Nakamura K, Edwards RH
• Optical reporters for the conformation of alpha-synuclein reveal a specific interaction with mitochondria.
  The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 2008 Nakamura K, Nemani VM, Wallender EK, Kaehlcke K, Ott M, Edwards RH
• Effects of unilateral subthalamic and pallidal deep brain stimulation on fine motor functions in Parkinson's disease.
  Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society 2007 Nakamura K, Christine CW, Starr PA, Marks WJ
• Huntington's disease: clinical characteristics, pathogenesis and therapies.
  Drugs of today (Barcelona, Spain : 1998) 2007 Nakamura K, Aminoff MJ
• Textbook of neural repair and rehabilitation (eds Selzer ME, Cohen L, Gage FH, Clarke S and Duncan PW)
  Trophic factor delivery by gene therapy 2006 Nakamura K Kang UJ
• Lipid rafts mediate the synaptic localization of alpha-synuclein.
  The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 2004 Fortin DL, Troyer MD, Nakamura K, Kubo S, Anthony MD, Edwards RH
• Vitamin B12 deficiency.
  Archives of neurology 2004 Nakamura K, Mukherjee P, Swanson RA
• Potential of gene therapy for pediatric neurotransmitter diseases: lessons from Parkinson's disease.
  Annals of neurology 2003 Kang UJ, Nakamura K
• The localization and functional contribution of striatal aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase to L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine decarboxylation in rodent parkinsonian models.
  Cell transplantation 2000 Nakamura K, Ahmed M, Barr E, Leiden JM, Kang UJ
• Preferential resistance of dopaminergic neurons to glutathione depletion in a reconstituted nigrostriatal system.
  Brain research 2000 Nakamura K, Won L, Heller A, Kang UJ
• The selective toxicity of 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium to dopaminergic neurons: the role of mitochondrial complex I and reactive oxygen species revisited.
  Molecular pharmacology 2000 Nakamura K, Bindokas VP, Marks JD, Wright DA, Frim DM, Miller RJ, Kang UJ
• Preferential resistance of dopaminergic neurons to the toxicity of glutathione depletion is independent of cellular glutathione peroxidase and is mediated by tetrahydrobiopterin.
  Journal of neurochemistry 2000 Nakamura K, Wright DA, Wiatr T, Kowlessur D, Milstien S, Lei XG, Kang UJ
• Daily treatment with human recombinant parathyroid hormone-(1-34), LY333334, for 1 year increases bone mass in ovariectomized monkeys.
  The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism 1999 Brommage R, Hotchkiss CE, Lees CJ, Stancill MW, Hock JM, Jerome CP
• The role of glutathione in dopaminergic neuronal survival.
  Journal of neurochemistry 1997 Nakamura K, Wang W, Kang UJ
• Single core polypeptide in the reaction center of the photosynthetic bacterium Heliobacillus mobilis: structural implications and relations to other photosystems.
  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 1993 Liebl U, Mockensturm-Wilson M, Trost JT, Brune DC, Blankenship RE, Vermaas W